Indian Climate – What type of Climate Does India Have?

India’s climate closely resembles the climate that of a tropical country although its northern part (north of tropic of cancer) is situated in the temperate belt.

Indian subcontinent is separated from the rest of Asia by the lofty Himalayan ranges which block the cold air masses moving southwards from Central Asia.

As a result, during winters, the northern half of India is warmer by 3°C to 8°C than other areas located on same latitudes.

During summer, due to over the head position of the sun, the climate in the southern parts resemble equatorial dry climate.

The north Indian plains are under the influence of hot dry wind called ‘loo’ blowing from the Thar, Baloch and Iranian Deserts, increasing the temperatures to a level comparable to that of the southern parts of the country.

Thus the whole of India, south of the Himalayas can be climatically treated as a tropical country.

The seasonal reversal of winds in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal give India a typical tropical monsoon climate.

So Indian climate, to be precise, is tropical monsoon type (a distinct wet and dry climate) rather than just a tropical or half temperate climate.

Features of Indian Climate

India has high Regional Climatic Diversity because of its topographical diversity (location, altitude, distance from sea and relief).

Rainfall

The climate in most of the regions is characterized by distinct wet and dry seasons. Some places like Thar desert, Ladakh have no wet season.

The Ganga delta and the coastal plains of Odisha see intense rainfall in July and August while the Coromandel Coast goes dry during these months.

Places like Goa, Hyderabad and Patna receive south-west monsoon rains by the first quarter of June while the rains are awaited till early July at places in Northwest India.

Temperature

Diurnal and annual temperature ranges are substantial.

Highest diurnal temperature ranges occur in the Thar desert and the highest annual temperature ranges are recorded in the Himalayan regions.

Both diurnal and mean annual temperature ranges are least in coastal regions.

In December, the temperature may dip to – 40°C at some places in J&K while in many coastal regions average temperature is 20-25°C.

Winters are moderately cold in most of the regions while the summers are extremely hot.

Himalayan regions experience brutal winters while the summers are moderate.

Factors Influencing Indian Climate

Latitudinal location

Distance from the Sea

The Himalayas

Physiography

Monsoon Winds

Upper Air Circulation

El Nino and La Nina

Tropical Cyclones and Western Disturbances

Latitudinal location

Indian climate resembles the climate of a tropical country.

The mainland of India extends between 8°N to 37°N.

Areas south of the Tropic of Cancer are in tropics and hence receive high solar insolation. The summer temperatures are extreme and winters temperatures are moderate in most of the regions.

The northern parts on the other hand lie in the warm temperate zone. They receive comparatively less solar insolation. But summer are equally hot in north India because of hot local wind called ‘loo’. Winter are very cold due to cold waves brought by the western disturbances.

Some places in Himalayas record low temperatures particularly in winter.

Himalayas divide the Bay of Bengal branch of monsoon winds into two branches – one branch flowing along the plain regions towards north-west India and the other towards South-East Asia.

If the Himalayas were not present, the monsoon winds would simply move into China and most of the north India would have been a desert.

Why rainfall decreases form east to west in plains region (Indus-Ganga Plains)?

In summer, there are many minor low pressure cells that exist all over the plain region.

As the monsoon winds move from east to west the moisture levels decrease due to successive rainfall at each low pressure regions.

By the time winds reach western parts of the plains (Delhi, Haryana etc.) all the moisture in the monsoon winds in exhausted.

Then how come Haryana and Punjab not deserts like Rajasthan?

They receive rainfall due to Western Disturbances in winter. (In summer the rainfall is very low.)

Physiography and Indian Climate

Physiography is the most important factor that determines the mean annual rainfall received by a region.

Why are some parts in peninsular India semi-arid?

Places on the windward side of an orographic barrier receive great amount of rainfall where as those on the leeward side remain arid to semi-arid due to rain-shadow effect.

Example: The south-west monsoon winds from the Arabian sea strike almost perpendicular at the Western Ghats and cause copious rainfall in the Western Coastal plain and the western slopes of the Western Ghats.

On the contrary, vast areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu lie in rain-shadow or leeward side of the Western Ghats and receive scanty rainfall.

Why no significant rainfall in Gujarat and Rajasthan? Explain the formation of Thar Desert?

Monsoons winds flowing in Rajasthan and Gujarat are not obstructed by any orographic barrier and hence these regions receive no rainfall.

[Monsoon winds blow almost parallel to Aravalis and hence there is no orographic rainfall].

[Sub-tropical high pressure belt: In winter the region experiences strong divergence because of the STJ – Sub-Tropical Jet.]

How come Cherrapunji and Mawsynram receive abnormally high rainfall?

Mawsynram and Cherrapunjiare the wettest places on earth with mean annual rainfall over 1000 cm.

Copious rainfall in these places is due to funneling effect followed by orographic upliftment. [Funneling effect = clouds are channeled into a narrow region between mountains and hence the cloud density is extraordinary]

Monsoon Winds and Indian Climate

The most dominating factor of the Indian climate is the ‘monsoon winds’.

Important features of Indian Monsoons are

Sudden onset (sudden burst)

Gradual progress

Gradual retreat

Seasonal reversal of winds

The complete reversal of the monsoon winds brings about a sudden change in the seasons.

The harsh summer season suddenly giving way to monsoon or rainy season.

The south-west monsoons from the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal bring rainfall to the entire country.

The north-eastern winter monsoon do not cause much rainfall except along the Caromandel coast (TN coast) after getting moisture from the Bay of Bengal.

Upper Air Circulation

The changes in the upper air circulation over Indian landmass is brought about by Jet streams. (Explained in detail in Indian Monsoons)

Westerly Jet Stream

Westerly jet stream blows at a very high speed during winter over the sub-tropical zone.

Southern branch of the jet stream exercises a significant influence on the winter weather conditions in India.

This jet stream is responsible for bringing western disturbances from the Mediterranean region in to the Indian sub-continent.

Winter rain and heat storms in north-western plains and occasional heavy snowfall in hilly regions are caused by these disturbances.

These are generally followed by cold waves in the whole of northern plains.

Easterly Jet Stream

Reversal in upper air circulation takes place in summer due to the apparent shift of the sun’s vertical rays in the northern hemisphere.

The westerly jet stream is replaced by the easterly jet stream which owes its origin to the heating of the Tibet plateau.

This helps in the sudden onset of the south-west monsoons.

Tropical Cyclones and Western Disturbances

Tropical cyclones originate in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and the influence large parts of the peninsular India.

Majority of the cyclones originate in the Bay of Bengal and influence the weather conditions during the south-west monsoon season (low intensity cyclones).

Some cyclones are born during the retreating monsoon season, i.e., in October and November (high intensity cyclones) and influence the weather conditions along the eastern coast of India.

The western disturbances originate over the Mediterranean sea and travel eastward under the influence of westerly jet stream.

They influence the winter weather conditions over most of Northern-plains and Western Himalayan region.

El-Nino, La Nina, ENSO and Indian Climate

El Nino

Adversely affects monsoon rainfall and cyclogenesis in Bay of Bengal.

Good for cyclogenesis in Arabian Sea.

Droughts are common during El Nino events due to less monsoonal and cyclonic rainfall.

La Nina

Good for monsoons and cyclogenesis in Bay of Bengal.

Suppressed cyclogenesis in Arabian Sea.

Floods are common.

ENSO

Southern Oscillation is simply the oscillation or alternating positions of low pressure and high pressure cells over eastern and western Pacific.

Southern Oscillation coinciding with El Nino is called ENSO or El Nino Southern Oscillation. (SO usually coincides with EL Nino. This why El Nino is usually referred to as ENSO)

ENSO = [warm water in eastern Pacific + low pressure over eastern Pacific] + [cool water in western Pacific + high pressure in western Pacific]